HOW ALCOA WHEELS IS HELPING FLEETS REACH THEIR ZERO EMISSIONS GOALS
July 1, 2023 2:20 am
According to the inventory report published by the Ministry for the Environment in 2021, the transport sector is responsible for approximately 19% of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
In terms of the specific amount of carbon emissions from transport, the report states that in 2019, the transport sector emitted a total of 19.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e). This includes emissions from road, rail, aviation, and domestic shipping.
The demand for freight in New Zealand is significant and continues to grow, driven by a range of factors including population growth, global trade, and e-commerce. Freight is essential for supporting economic activity and enabling the movement of goods within New Zealand and internationally.
It goes without saying that with this increased demand for freight services, means in increase in CO2 emissions.
Most of the prime movers in the market already come standard with Alcoa wheels, because they are known for their premium features and benefits, such as their light weight and durability, along with their lowered maintenance and fuel efficiency attributes.
It’s all very well having an electric prime mover that’s kicking zero emissions goals, but if the trailing equipment is weighty it will chew through battery power and reduce the kilometres you can get out of your battery.
New Zealand’s leading fleets and OEMs choose Alcoa wheels for their trailing equipment because:
1. Alcoa Wheels are the lightest and strongest forged aluminium wheels in the heavy-duty trucking industry
The 22.5″ x 8.25″ Alcoa Ultra ONE® wheel weighs just 18kg.
The Patented MagnaForceTM alloy, which is only available on Alcoa wheels, was introduced to the market in 2013 and replaced the 6061 alloy which had been in use since the forged aluminium wheel was produced by Alcoa Wheels 45 prior.
MagnaForceTM alloy is on average 17 percent stronger than the industry standard 6061 alloy when used in similar applications.
The increase in alloy strength allows for a reduction in the overall weight of the wheel, without compromising its strength and durability.
The Alcoa Ultra ONE® wheel can carry the same load of 3,360kg as the previous 20.36kg 22.5″ x 8.25″ Ultra ONE® Wheel, while being almost 2.5kg lighter!
Lighter wheels mean that fleets and owner-operators benefit from offsetting the extra weight of the battery, as well as getting the most out of the distance an electric truck can travel on that battery’s power.
“Reducing the number of trucks needed to haul the same quantities of freight has a substantial impact on sustainability,” says Ross Simmons, Managing Director of Howmet Wheel Systems, distributor of Alcoa Wheels in Australia.
Trucks that have to travel less haulage runs because they can carry more means less trucks on the road, which in turn means cleaner air and healthier citizens (who are customers, employees, family members).
2. Alcoa Wheels are 100% recyclable
Aluminium can be recycled forever.
Recycling an Alcoa® Wheel at the end of its useful life will generate a piece of metal with exactly the same properties as the metal used to manufacture the recycled wheel. Once the new product reaches the end of its useful life, the same process can be performed again and again.
In the recycling process, almost all of the quantity of the material is preserved – and this process can be repeated almost infinitely.
Aluminium recycling also saves huge economic and environmental costs compared with the creation of virgin metal. Each ton of aluminium recycled saves one square meter of land use and 24 barrels of crude oil equivalent of energy.
It saves more than 15 tons of fresh or sea water use, eliminates more than 9 tons of CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions, and avoids 2.5 tons of solid waste and hundreds of kilograms of other air and water-borne emissions and effluents.
3. Alcoa Durabright Wheels create less water waste and require less harsh chemicals to be put back into the environment
Available across the entire Alcoa Wheels range, Alcoa Dura-Bright® wheels are infused with a proprietary surface treatment that penetrates the surface of the aluminium to form one composite that becomes an integral part of the wheel so cracking, corrosion and filiform can’t get underneath as is seen with acrylic and other coatings.
With the ability to be cleaned in a Ph environment 2-12, they stay shiny with regular truck cleaning products and even just soap and water – even after hundreds of washes and thousands of kilometres.
Less harsh chemicals and less water needed is much kinder to the environment (Dura-Bright wheels have been known to cut wash time down from 20 mins to just 2 mins per wheel!).
“Dura-Bright® wheels clean with a simple soap and water wash, and not only do they take less time to clean than standard brushed aluminium wheels, they don’t need to be polished, so there are less chemicals going into the environment and less water used,” says Michael Nichols, National Sales Manager for Alcoa Wheels.
Alcoa Dura-Bright® is available across most of the Alcoa wheel range, which means the premium benefits they are known for are not compromised:
- their light weight (increased payload, better fuel efficiency),
- their unmatched strength (proprietary MagnaForce® alloy is exclusive to Alcoa wheels and is 17% stronger than any other alloy in the industry),
- their improved heat dissipation results in extended tyre and brake life.
